Bryant Young quickly regains his footing

Published 4:00 am, Monday, November 17, 1997

Missing in action the last three games with injuries to both feet, defensive tackle Bryant Young wasted no time in getting back into the flow.

On the second play of Sunday's game he sacked Carolina quarterback Kerry Collins for a 6-yard loss. It was Young's first sack since the Atlanta game Oct. 19, when he sprained his right foot and left ankle. He missed the New Orleans, Dallas and Philadelphia games.

Young had five tackles in addition to the sack, his fourth of the season.

"He showed why he's B.Y.," defensive end Chris Doleman said.

"It felt all right," Young said. "Once I got going and loosened up and got in a rhythm, it felt pretty good."

While Young was out, Junior Bryant stepped in and played well. He had one tackle Sunday.

"We have a lot of talent on this team," Young said. "We have solid backups, guys who do a good job when they're in there."

Meanwhile, defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield's streak of sacks in seven straight games ended on Sunday. Double-teamed much of the time by left guard Mathew Campbell and center Frank Garcia, Stubblefield was held without a sack while recording two tackles. He still leads the league with 13 sacks.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Terry Kirby's 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown ties him for the third-longest in 49er history.

"I saw a hole and you have to hit it quickly because it doesn't stay there long," Kirby said. "I wasn't thinking about whether the kicker would tackle me. . . . I just kept focused on the goal line."

The team has not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Dexter Carter went 96 yards on Nov. 6, 1994, against the Washington Redskins.

It was the second straight week that special teams have scored a touchdown.

Last week in the win over the Eagles at Philadelphia, Chuck Levy returned a punt 73 yards for a score.

It is the first time since 1987 that the 49ers have scored special-teams touchdowns in consecutive weeks.

Back then, Dana McLemore returned a punt 83 yards against the Bears Dec. 14, and Joe Cribbs returned a kickoff 92 yards against the Falcons Dec. 20.

NO SCOREBOARD WATCHERS: At least one 49er did not pay much attention to the scoreboard and the shifting fortunes of teams playing games in progress. As it turned out, both Green Bay and Minnesota lost to enhance San Francisco's chances of having home-field advantage through the playoffs.

"You see the board, but you don't know what's going on," Doleman said. "When you start looking at the board, you lose track of what's in front of you."

WELL SAID: Doleman, asked if the way the 49ers are playing is the mark of a championship team, remarked, "I don't know. I've never been on a championship team."

Before coming to the 49ers in 1996, Doleman was with Minnesota and Atlanta.

THE OFFICIAL WORD: The Panthers were outraged when CB Tyrone Poole was called for pass interference while defending WR Terrell Owens on a long pass route late in the first quarter. Replays showed little obstruction by Poole while Owens had a hand on Poole's shoulder.

The call was made by back judge Keven Mack and upheld by referee Gerry Austin with virtually no discussion.

"The official (Mack) said that the defender restrained the receiver with his arm that prohibited him from getting into the pattern and making a play on the ball," Austin told a pool reporter. "I just asked what the call was and the number (of the player)."

STOPPING THE SACK: The 49er offensive line didn't give up any sacks Sunday - for the first time since the Detroit game last Dec. 23.

When the teams met in Carolina Sept. 29, the 49ers gave up two sacks, for a total of 3 yards. The line has given up only three sacks in the last three games.

CAPERS COMPARES: Carolina coach Dom Capers was asked to compare this year's 49ers team, which has beaten the Panthers twice, with last year's team, which lost to Carolina twice.

"They have much better balance on offense," he said.

"There's the addition of (running back) Garrison Hearst and the improved running game."

Cornerback Eric Davis, a former 49er, said, "They're getting plays from special teams, running the ball and playing good defense - that was the formula that won it for us last year."

HOMECOMING AT MIDFIELD: Carolina's three captains for the coin toss were all former 49ers: Davis, tight end Wesley Walls and backup cornerback Toi Cook.

The 49ers' three captains included one former Panther - defensive end Kevin Greene.

OF NOTE: The 49ers increased their turnover margin to plus-20 with three interceptions against the Panthers . . . The 49ers are 8-0 this season when scoring at least 20 points. . . . The other times San Francisco teams won 10 games in a row were 1948, 1990 and 1994. . . . CB Rod Woodson increased his team lead in the dubious category of penalties with 10. . . . Pop singer Seal was a guest of Steve Young. . . . Young's 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gives him 36 rushing touchdowns for his career. It places him third on the all-time list for running scores by NFL quarterbacks behind Jack Kemp with 40 and Tobin Rote with 37. . . . Carolina rookie running back Fred Lane, a product of Division II Lane College in Tennessee, said of his 66 yards in 16 carries, "It's kind of nice - a kid from a small college can keep up with the big boys." &lt;

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